


Accidents Happen

by DarlingCera



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Feels, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Pregnancy, Season 12 spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2018-12-05 04:07:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11570010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarlingCera/pseuds/DarlingCera
Summary: After a case, Garcia and Reid get a little tipsy.They know they're being safe, but accidents happen.Now Garcia is pregnant and Spencer Reid is in jail awaiting trial for murder.Story follows the plot of season 12.





	1. Chapter 1

A night out was what they all needed.Penelope had suggested it herself as soon as the elevator doors opened and the team poured out into the hallway, eager to get back to their desks and gather their things. JJ and Emily agreed to dinner and drinks. Reid’s stomach growled and he realized his fridge was probably empty. Tara left with her brother and father, and Rossi agreed to go out for “Just one drink”. Everyone knew that meant he would buy the whole team a round or two and maybe have a cigar if they sat outside.

They knew they should all be vigilant with Hotch now in Witness Protection and Mr.Scratch coming for all of them. But if they all stuck together, everything would be fine, wouldn’t it? “Can I ride with you? I took the bus to work this morning. My car’s been acting up lately and the traffic was horrific. I’m really thankful for bus-only lanes. It really creates an incentive for people to take public transport thereby reducing emissions even by a fractional amount.” Reid asked Garcia as she packed up her purse for the day. 

“You could have just stopped at “I took the bus to work this morning.” But I’ll drive you.” She slung her heavy bag over her shoulder and let Spencer out behind her before locking her office door for the night. She knew she had good stuff in her office and sticky fingers were always a concern. 

Reid and Garcia left in Garcia’s car, pulling out of the parking garage and peeling out onto the highway. They talked a little on the way to the restaurant. Mostly about how they were both relieved that Prentiss was replacing Hotch. 

The team had already occupied the biggest table in the restaurant porch, and appetizers were being ordered while Rossi looked at the wine menu. Penelope and Spencer sat down together, Rossi on Reid’s left and Emily on Garcia’s right. Dinner was fantastic. Penelope loved Mexican food. The spicier the better! Glasses were filled and emptied with Rossi’s fancy wine selection. A round of Margaritas was brought to the table. Spencer’s head was spinning. They stayed at the table until they were good to drive. “Let’s go, Boy Genius.” Penelope said, after a round of goodbye hugs. She drove them home, a comfortable silence between them. 

“Why don’t you come home with me?” she said, her voice soft. She didn’t want to drive back to Spencer’s place. Her bed was calling her name. “Sure” Reid liked Garcia’s apartment. It was cozy and colorful all at once. And he was just tipsy and tired enough to melt right into that so-soft couch of hers. He would bet she wore cute things to bed too. Lacy things in pastel colors with those little slippers with the fluff on them he had only seen in movies. Spencer sighed softly, once in awhile a long-held, very small crush on Garcia would bubble up from nowhere, last for a few weeks or months with nothing coming of it, then it would fade away into the rhythm of friendship and workplace rules. That well of affection was starting to bubble up again, and Reid wasn’t sure if it was the wine or if it would have started up again if he was completely sober. 

Penelope parked her car and got out, clumsily stuffing her keys in her bag and taking a moment to compose herself as Spencer got out of the passenger side. “Wanna keep the party going just a little longer?” She asked “Absolutely.” Spencer gave her a half-smile as they walked up to her door. Just one more drink. Then he would have a good night’s sleep and wake up to a day off. He had already asked Prentiss for a few days to be with his mother. She said take all the time he needed. He would fly out to Houston to get her after resting tomorrow. He didn’t doubt he would be at least a little hungover after this. 

Spencer set his bag down on the floor by her front door and made himself cozy on the sofa. “I’m going to slip into something more comfortable.” She joked as she disappeared into her bedroom. Spencer took his shoes off and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. He had been here enough times, he felt comfortable here. This apartment was where he had watched every Dr.Who Christmas Special for at least the last five years. Penelope came back, her hair now down and curling around her shoulders. She wore a vintage-style nighty, in a soft pink with lace on every edge, and a pair of matching silky shorts underneath. Spencer stood against the kitchen counter and tried his best not to stare as she got a bottle of wine and opened it. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the stuff Rossi bought, but Spencer really couldn’t care less. She poured him a glass and handed it to him with a wink that could have knocked him dead. All of her stemware was painted with little designs, high heels, flowers, you name it. She had gotten on a crafting kick a while back. He had a wine glass at home with his name on it. 

“Thanks” He took the glass of white wine and sipped it. 

“ Should we go sit on the couch?” She suggested. Spencer nodded. He walked out to the sofa and sat down, careful not to spill his wine. Penelope joined him, sitting down with one leg tucked under her. She was so close to him, he could smell the remnants of her perfume. She always wore something sweet. But mature. Not like the kinds of sweet perfumes young girls wore that smelled like cotton candy. Penelope smelled like a spring garden, or a bowl of fresh fruit that was laid out at the altar of an old god. Maybe this time he would do something, he would act on his feelings. She was so closed she was almost touching him, and the sleepy look in her eyes was incredibly seductive. With the hand that was resting against the back of the sofa, Spencer reached out and stroked Penelope’s cheek. She uttered a pleased little laugh and caught his hand. She moved it lower, to her neck Spencer pressed his fingers lightly into her flesh. He ran his fingers through a blond curl and cupped her face again. She made the first move. Spencer felt her lips against his own and it felt like the world stood still for that moment. 

Then everything seemed to speed up in a mad rush. She was incredibly soft, that nightie was off and on the floor in no time at all and Spencer’s hands were all over every curve of her full figure. He had to stop himself for just a second, just to admire. “See something you like?” her tone was devilish. “Yeah... “ he said, biting his lip and caressing her waist. She slid the little silky shorts down to reveal absolutely nothing. 

“Anything else?” She purred. 

Spencer pushed her legs apart and knelt between them, putting his mouth to work between her legs. He was surprised when she came so soon. “Where’d you learn to do that?” She asked, her face totally shocked. 

Spencer just chuckled as he tossed his shirt and tie to the floor “Wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“Protection?” He asked. 

“Bedroom, nightstand.” She replied. She had had an IUD for a while but knew Spencer would probably be more comfortable with a condom. He headed towards her room and she followed. He found the condoms in her bedside table and as he was looking in the drawer, he felt hands slip around his waist and unbuckle his belt. His pants were soon on the floor and he felt a playful slap to his ass that made him jump. In retaliation, he pushed Penelope onto the bed with a gentle shove. She laid on her back, legs open, providing him with the most amazing view. He got a finger wet in his mouth and slid it carefully inside her. She was already soaked. He worked his fingers, looking for just the right spot. Spencer found it and Garcia let out a delighted mixture of a moan and a giggle. He kept at it, stopping just before she came again. 

“You’re a tease. A horrible, awful tease!” She pouted. 

“Well if I’m so horrible then I guess you want me to stop?” Spencer raised his eyebrows. He was, of course, teasing her. “Oh no. No no no! Don’t you stop!” She pleaded. 

“That’s what I thought.” He tore open the condom wrapper. Penelope liked how Reid could be just a little feisty sometimes. She had seen him do it to people who talked down to him and then it had seemed bold and brave. Now, coupled with the lusty look in his eyes? It was downright sexy. She was sure she would be seeing more of this side of the doctor. It would of course stay her little secret. She couldn’t hold on to gossip for very long, but this was something she wanted all to herself. 

“Ready?” he asked. Despite his slightly dominant behavior, he was still being courteous. Penelope nodded and tried not to squirm too much as he pushed deep inside of her. Hearing him moan was without a doubt, even hotter than him saying something feisty in a room full of people who could easily fire him on the spot. Her legs wound around his narrow waist while he fucked her. He went slowly at first, trying to keep a hold of himself. It had been a ridiculously long time since he had slept with someone. 

In fact, he had only ever been with one other woman in his life. Who wasn’t important, but the rest of his sexual history mostly involved a couple of boyfriends here and there that never seemed to work out because he was gone all the time for work. Garcia probably knew that he played for both teams, everyone probably knew if Garcia knew. None of this was on his mind though, as he kept fucking her, feeling her move her hips as much as she could while still keeping her legs tight around his waist. When the whole thing was over, and they were both utterly spent, Spencer pulled slowly out of her. But once he was out he noticed it. The condom had completely torn. Penelope noticed the anxiety on his face and gently asked if he was alright. 

“The condom broke…” He said, worry evident in his voice. 

“Don’t worry about it. I have an IUD.” That made Spencer feel better as he trashed the torn condom and went to clean up a little. Penelope rolled herself into the sheets and fell comfortably asleep before Spencer even came back. He got into bed with her, assuming it was fine after what had just happened, and got some sleep. 

She made him a breakfast that would stick to his ribs until well in the afternoon when he was on his plane to Houston. He pushed their small accident out of his mind. IUDS were one of the most effective forms of contraception, everything would be alright. Besides, he had much bigger problems to deal with. Like getting his mom out of the clinic in Houston and bringing her home. He could take the best care of her at home. 

Back at Quantico, everything was going on as usual. The team took cases, they caught the bad guys. Reid came home a while later. Penelope didn’t think he would be gone this long, it had been well over a week. But he was leaving because of his mom, and she knew she wasn’t doing well, so Penelope understood. When he arrived early that morning, Spencer quickly snuck into Penelope’s office and crept up behind her. She could tell it was him by the little “rearview mirror” attached to the side of a monitor. She had been startled too many times. Her fingers stopped typing when she felt his hands on her shoulders. Spencer was stressed. And feeling just a little bit reckless. Reckless wasn’t him or it didn’t used to be, but with Penelope, he felt like he could afford to let go just a little bit. “Hey you..” She said turning her head just a little to look at him. “Hey.” He bent down and kissed her glossy lips. He got a quick taste of something fruity and knew his lips would be sticky afterword, but had no regrets. She broke the kiss, spun her chair around, pulled him down to her by his tie and kissed him again. If this was going to be a recurring thing, she was all about it. “Don’t get me too hot and bothered” She pouted, “You’re about to be on a jet plane and I have to stay right here.” 

“Then maybe I should give you a little something to keep you happy until I get back.” 

“Are you talking a present from Houston or a quickie?” Penelope asked. 

“Both?” He pulled a little ceramic cat wearing a cowboy hat out of his blazer pocket. She gave a delighted squeal and placed it on her desk before getting up and locking her office door before making a big show of dropping her panties and hiking up her skirt. It was a struggle to keep quiet, but somehow she managed and emerged from her office a few minutes after Reid did, looking just as put together as when she arrived, with a stack of case files in hand to distribute to the team. She hated seeing them go. But after everyone left the briefing room, Spencer stayed behind for a goodbye kiss that made her giddy. 

The team came back from their case, and Spencer announced he was going away again after telling the team that his mom was living at home with him and he needed to find her a nurse that could handle the job. But then, when Diana flushed the medicine that he had gone all the way to Mexico to procure for her, he knew he would need more than a couple of days to get more. The day Reid left for Mexico, Penelope woke up sluggish. This wasn’t entirely unusual, it was Monday, after all. Her head hurt, and she felt just a little queasy. Regardless she went into work. Later in the day she felt just a little better after some ginger tea. She didn’t think anything of it. If it persisted, she had a routine doctor’s appointment in a couple of weeks. 

Those couple of weeks went by, and she didn’t feel much better. She was tired most of the time now. And her head hurt. She had had to move the doctor's appointment because she couldn’t get away from a case. But finally she made it into the office. The doctor sent her for blood work. She hated blood work. She couldn’t watch the needle go in and couldn’t look at it while the blood was being taken out. And they took so much! Was it really necessary to take more than one vial of her blood? 

Still feeling bad, but a little bit better, Penelope went back in for her blood work results. 

“Well” The doctor said as she looked through the chart that a nurse had left on her desk. “There’s nothing wrong with you. But you did say you have an IUD at your last appointment, didn’t you? And that you were sexually active?” Penelope nodded. 

“Your chart says that your blood work shows that you’re pregnant” 

Garcia was sure her heart had stopped. She was pregnant and there was no question whatsoever of who the father was. 

“Your IUD must be faulty.” The doctor said “I would recommend taking it out while you’re pregnant. We can go ahead and take it out now if you want. It just takes a few minutes ” She nodded again and tried to find something, anything to say. She noticed the discomfort of the speculum and the doctor pulling the device out but her mind was so far elsewhere that she couldn’t think too much about the relatively minor procedure. 

How was she supposed to tell him, How was he going to react? Reid had a lot on his plate, with Mr.Scratch targeting the team and his mom living in his apartment now . How was she supposed to tell the team? She couldn’t just announce it and have a big party. That wouldn’t apply here. This broke so many rules. They could both be fired. Or at the very least get in massive trouble. 

She wanted to be excited, she really did. But anxiety was winning out over any kind of excitement. She scheduled an appointment with an OBGYN and went back to work. Reid was still gone, and she would tell him in person when he got back. No matter what, she wanted to tell him first, then Emily. Then the rest of the team. She wanted to make telling Reid an event. She wanted it to be special. But what if he didn’t want the baby? She had to stop telling herself that. Of course he would. He wasn’t the kind of guy that wouldn’t at least take responsibility. 

She went back to work after her appointment. The mood in the office was heavy. 

Spencer was in jail in Mexico. For the second time that day Penelope’s heart stopped. She went back to her office and closed the door while the team got on the jet to come to Reid's aid.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope breaks the news to Spencer.

Penelope Garcia was almost completely sure that the entire world was crumbling down around her. Reid was in jail. He was possibly going to be going into a Mexican Supermax Prison for murder. Garcia worked at her keyboard, shuffling through the list of physicians that she had pulled up. Rosa Mendez was a name that was not on the list. She started to panic. She sent the list over to the team and did her best to calm herself down.

She was in the middle of what had to be her thousandth anxiety attack, which she knew wasn’t good for the baby, which only gave her more anxiety, when Walker called and asked her to look into Nadie Ramos. She found everything she could about the woman and most importantly discovered that she was born in the United States, which meant that Reid could be extradited. She breathed a sigh of heavy relief when the news came that Reid was being brought back to the US. But her guts tightened when she heard the possibility of twenty-five to life if he was found guilty. He had to come home. There was no way he couldn’t. The extradition happened, and Penelope sat through the bail hearing, only to be sorely disappointed when she couldn’t talk to Reid at all during the whole thing. The way he looked at her, sad brown eyes that looked so defeated. She cried in front of the team and went home to cry more that night. 

To console herself, Penelope googled every little question she could about being pregnant, little things that she had forgotten to ask the doctor that weren’t medically relevant, but important nonetheless. She was sorely disappointed to hear that her little kidney bean couldn’t hear her yet, despite the fact that she had already started talking to it. “Kids just never listen” she thought. She felt a little silly for talking to the baby already. But who didn't? 

She started her incredibly important duty of collecting letters and setting up a visiting schedule with her as the first person on the list. She had to tell Reid about the baby before she started showing. And she had to tell Reid before she could tell Prentiss. Reid deserved to be the first person to know. But she had to miss her first visit because of a case. It gave her more time to plan how to tell him. At her first appointment, they told her she was about nine weeks along and did her first ultrasound. She cried when she first heard the heartbeat and took a sound recording of it for Reid on a little digital sound recorder. She knew she wouldn't be allowed to bring her cell phone into the prison with her, so hopefully this would make it into the visitation room with her. They printed out two copies of the ultrasound. She tucked hers into her purse and planned on keeping it in a little frame in her office until it could be replaced with a picture of something that looked more like a baby and less like an oddly-shaped bean. She had a big envelope full of letters from the team. She could just add the other copy to the envelope? But that wouldn’t be special enough for such big news. Penelope Garcia did not do subtle when it came to delivering good news. 

She went out to the mall on Sunday morning. She was already filled with the desire to look at baby clothes and see if she could get a good deal on a crib. As Penelope walked out of a furniture store that had possibly the cutest crib set, she saw a book store. Reid likes books she thought Maybe I can get him something to read while I’m out. She walked into the bookstore when she saw it, right in the middle was a display with a sign that said “Classics” and in the middle of it all, a hardback copy of “The Odyssey”. She had read that before. Odysseus’s wife, who just happened to be named Penelope, stayed faithful to him despite him being gone for over twenty years. It was perfect! She purchased the book, and a couple of new fuzzy pens for her desk, then went straight home after satisfying a craving for soft pretzels. 

At home, she looked through her stash of washi tape and determined that taping the corners down with yellow polka dot tape was the best idea. She taped the sonogram to the inside of the book and wrote in emerald green gel pen, she wrote 

“Be brave, My Odysseus. 

Love, 

Penelope” 

Beneath the sonogram she wrote “ March 2018” 

She closed the book and tucked it into her bag along with the huge manila envelope full of letters from everyone. She got into bed and turned off her lamp. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to fall asleep, not with the big news to deliver tomorrow, first thing in the morning. 

Penelope woke up early and got dressed, carefully picking out her outfit, trying to remember every piece of clothing that Reid had ever complimented her on. Which reminded her to try sewing some maternity clothes. Or at least look for patterns online. Once she was dressed, hair and makeup done, and flats on her feet because walking around in heels all day was a habit that was going to have to go soon anyway, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door. The drive to the prison was not a fun one, she tried to keep cheerful as she went through security, who thankfully let her keep the sound recorder as long as she still had it with her when she left. 

She sat down on a metal chair on one side of a Plexiglas partition, her heart pounding and threatening to beat right out of her chest. The guard brought Reid out and sat him down in the chair on the other side of the partition. 

When Spencer caught his first glimpse of Penelope his heart swelled. He was so relieved to see her, just like he had been relieved to see the rest of the team. 

“I come bearing gifts!” She said. She passed the packet of letters over the partition. “How are you holding up?” She needed to at least sort of get the conversation rolling. Spencer wasn’t doing well, and he was thankful for the letters. 

“I have something else for you.” She said. Spencer could tell there was a little bit of nervousness in her voice. “What is it?” He asked. He felt relieved when she passed a thick volume over the partition. 

“The Odyssey” He said “Thank you.” It seemed appropriate, somehow. 

“Open it.” Penelope felt like she was going to die of anticipation. Spencer assumed she had scrawled something cutesy on the inside to tell him to stay positive. But what he saw almost knocked him to the floor. 

“You’re pregnant?” His eyes were blown wide. 

“Yep!” She wasn’t entirely sure what his reaction was other than shock. But that was when the tears started followed by hearty laughter and Spencer smiling for probably the first time in weeks. “You’re pregnant! I’m gonna be a dad!!” He wanted to yell to the whole room. He wiped his tears on his grubby sleeve 

“You’re gonna be a dad!” Penelope was giddy that he had received the news well. She had briefly forgotten the possibility that he could be in here until their kid was working on it’s master’s degree. Spencer wanted nothing more than to hold her close to him, and of course to rub her stomach that still didn’t have an obvious bump, but he didn’t care. 

“I have this too!” She dug the recorder out of her pocket and played the sound of the heartbeat.” Reid wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold himself together at this point, but he took a few deep breaths, wiped away a few more tears and looked at her, trying to remember how perfect she looked in that moment. 

“Oh god, there’s so much to do…So much to think about.I thought you had an IUD?” “I did...It was faulty. “She replied. Reid was still laugh-crying a little. He too had forgotten, just for a second, how horrible his situation really was. Not to mention that his job might not be waiting for him when he got back because there was going to be some pretty visible evidence of their “Fraternization” on top of this whole mess that he had gotten into. 

“My mom calls me most days.” He said as visiting hours came to a close “Promise me you’ll go to my apartment tonight. I’m gonna tell her over the phone, if she’s doing well.” He couldn’t stop smiling even though he was rather roughly escorted away by a guard. She blew him a kiss and he caught it. His mom called a little later, and when he picked up he could tell she was having one of her good days. Thank goodness, because he didn’t want to wait to tell her. 

“Mom?” He said into the phone. 

“Are you alright, sweetie? Diana sat on the sofa in Reid’s apartment, the phone cord curled around her fingers. 

“Yeah, Mom, I’m great.” He smiled 

“How can you be great, Spencer, You’re in prison.” She didn’t sound too pleased, but she would be soon. 

“Mom, I um...before I came to get you from Houston...I…” He didn’t know how to phrase this part. He didn’t want to say he had a one night stand, because if he hadn’t been arrested it would have been way more than that. 

“Before I went to Houston I was getting pretty close with Garcia.” That seemed appropriate. 

“Is she the blond one with the glasses and all the hair clips? I like her, she’s sweet. And she knows how to make a cup of tea!” He was glad his mom automatically trusted Garcia since she was on his team and therefore one of “The good guys”. 

“She came and visited me today and she had some pretty big news.” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to say “I’m going to be a dad” or “You’re going to be a grandma” yet, so he was stalling just a little. “And what news was that?” She hoped it was good news about his case. 

“She told me I’m going to be a dad! So of course that means you’ll be a grandma!” Both seemed appropriate. 

“A grandma! Oh my goodness, I’m getting old, Spencer Me! A grandma!” Her nurse mouthed a congratulations and silently made a clapping motion. “When’s the baby due?” She asked “March of next year. She brought me the sonogram tucked into a copy of the Odyssey.” 

“Oh I like that, Penelope waited a long time for Odysseus, and I’m sure your Penelope will wait for you no matter how long this whole mess takes.” 

“She’s coming over later, to show you the sonogram.” Spencer had faith that she would come unless there was a case. And if that should happen, Penelope would call his mom and say she couldn’t make it. She wouldn’t just leave Diana hanging. 

“Oh, I can’t wait to see her!” 

“I have to go, mom.I love you” He said, there was still a smile in his voice. 

“Alright, Spencer. I love you too. And Spencer? You’re going to be an amazing father. I know your team will get you out of that miserable place before the baby is born. “ 

“Thanks, mom. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, dear.” Diana hung up the phone and would have jumped for joy if her aching joints would let her. 

“How about we make some brownies to celebrate?” Said the nurse, who pulled a box of brownie mix down from a cupboard. 

“Good idea. When I was pregnant with Spencer, I always wanted sweets. It was no surprise when he came out with such a big sweet tooth.” She recalled pillowcases full of Halloween candy spilled out on the carpet, Spencer going through his loot, dressed as a dinosaur, or a pirate or whatever caught his interest that year. 

Spencer went to bed that night, curled up in his cell with the sonogram in his hand, gently tracing the little dark outline with his finger, his heart so full it could burst. This was what he had dreamed of. Of course when he first started dreaming of it, it was with Maeve, and he wasn’t facing the possibility of spending his life in jail, but the thought of getting out and having his little family with Garcia, their baby and of course the team. He would take their baby to Morgan’s house for play dates with little Hank while the two of them caught up on each others lives and discussed the joys of fatherhood. He was already daydreaming about macaroni portraits, and picking preschools, Halloween costumes, and his mom on her good days, happily reading her only grandchild all of the stories she had read to Spencer when he was small. 

When Penelope left the prison, she went to break the news to Emily. She knocked on her office door and gently pushed it open when she heard her friend’s voice tell her to come in. 

“Hey, how was your visit with Reid?” Prentiss asked. 

“Good. Great. Listen I have something important to talk to you about.” Prentiss could tell that something was up. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked with a tilt of her head. 

Penelope took a deep breath in. Somehow this was much more difficult than telling Reid. 

“I’m pregnant.” She said, bracing herself. 

“Oh my god!” Emily got up from her desk “Oh my God, that’s wonderful!” Without thinking too hard about it, since Garcia was one of her best friends she asked “Who’s the father? You hadn’t told me about any guys.” Prentiss was slightly offended that Garcia was keeping secrets, but she knew her friend had every right to. 

She pulled the sonogram from her purse and showed it to Prentiss. “Reid is.... I have semi-tangible proof that Spencer Reid is not the virgin everyone seems to think he is.” Now she really had to brace herself. 

“REID?” Prentiss was trying to control her volume, but she was so shocked. 

“Yeah… that night we all went out for Mexican? And he went home with me? Some things happened. And those things, coupled with my faulty IUD and a broken condom resulted in what you see there…” 

“Oh boy…” Prentiss sat back down. “Penelope this is way against protocol, but luckily we have enough problems on our hands with Reid that it might be overlooked or you two might get a slap on the wrist for it. Did you tell him? How did he take it?” Now Emily simply needed to satisfy all of her curiosities. 

JJ walked down the hallway, Prentiss poked her head out of the door. “ JJ come here!” she said. The blond turned around “What’s up?” She asked “Is it about Reid?” she came into the office “Garcia, tell JJ what you just told me.” JJ knew Garcia went to see him this morning. 

“Whoa hang on is that what I think it is? Who's pregnant? …” JJ's eyes were wide as she picked up the sonogram. 

“I’ve got a bun in the oven.” Garcia said, her giddiness returning JJ’s draw dropped “And it’s Reid’s” She immediately hugged Penelope. 

“That’s gonna be one smart baby…” JJ said 

“I know right?” Emily said “It’s going to be born wearing academic regalia...” 

“So you told him today?” JJ got back to the question that had been abandoned. 

“Yeah.” Garcia couldn’t stop smiling “He cried. And He laughed...I don't think I’ve ever seen him so excited.” 

“Alright, I have to ask...And you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Penelope had a feeling she knew where Prentiss’s question was going. 

“Is he good in bed?” Yep. That was exactly what she was anticipating. 

“ It’s a good size and he knows what to do with it. Also...that mouth.” She was suddenly glad the baby couldn’t hear yet.


	3. Chapter 3

Penelope went from work to Reid’s apartment where he knew his mother and her nurse were staying. Coming here without Reid seemed kind of strange, especially with the weight of the news she was carrying. She had gone to the store on the way and picked up cookies from the bakery, but she could smell something sweet coming from behind the door as she knocked. Diana’s nurse open the door.   
“You must be Penelope, Spencer said you would be coming! I’m Cassie, Diana’s nurse”

Penelope shook the lady’s hand. 

“Yep, that’s me, I brought cookies for the occasion.” 

“What a coincidence! We just made brownies.” Cassie seemed nice. 

Penelope walked into the familiar apartment. It was a little more cluttered than it had been the last time she was here. 

Diana was still feeling pretty good, she got up from her spot on the sofa and looked at Penelope “Oh.” She said, a pleased expression. They had met, but Diana couldn’t exactly remember what she looked like. She remembered Penelope being shorter. And less...colorful. She then realized she was thinking of JJ, and that this was the computer girl. Diana remembered liking this girl a lot, though, and immediately went to hug her. 

“I am so sorry this whole thing had to happen this way” She said “It’s my fault, He was going over the border to get medicine for me.” 

“Don’t blame yourself for it.” Penelope said, she dug around in her purse and grabbed her copy of the ultrasound. 

“Spencer has a copy. I gave him one when I visited today" 

Diana eagerly took the picture and examined it closely. “Hang on a moment.” She said, holding onto the paper as she rooted through her son’s desk before pulling out a magnifying glass. “Wow.” She said, examining the photo with the magnifying glass, which made the little bean in the picture much larger. She stared for a good long moment. 

“It’s going to be such a smart child.”Diana was already impressed “And well-rounded, I’m sure. A little Ivy-leaguer!” She immediately put the picture on the refrigerator with a little round magnet. Cassie looked at the picture “I’m so happy for you and Dr.Reid!” She said as she cut up the brownies in the pan into little squares. Penelope helped herself to one and sat down on the sofa. “What’s this?” She asked, looking at the large scrapbook on the kitchen table. 

“I’ve been keeping that scrapbook since high school! There’s a lot of great pictures of Spencer as a baby in there!” They looked through the album together, “He was such a cute baby. Look at those big eyes!” Penelope knew from basic genetics, that their baby would more than likely have brown eyes like their father. Penelope’s heart melted at the sight of tiny Spencer looking at books that were almost as big as he was. “He was a good baby, not very fussy. But he got very curious and was into everything as soon as he started walking. He was always bringing me things from the back yard, flowers, plants. He had quite a rock collection.” Penelope had a great time talking to Diana, but she was slowly getting tired. 

When she left, she felt like everything had gone well with Spencer’s mom. She drove home and kicked off her shoes as soon as she got in the door. She got a glass of water (Something she hadn’t drank much of before now.) She looked in her spare room. Payday was coming up soon and she was ready to start decorating this room for baby. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to wait to find out if she was expecting a boy or a girl, or go with a gender neutral nursery theme. She would have to ask Spencer next time she visited. She sat on the twin sized guest bed and propped up her feet. Penelope opened pinterest on her phone and began a search for nursery decor. Yellow seemed nice. Yellow and grey. She imagined soft yellow walls. The baby still needed a name. That was another thing that she needed to discuss with Spencer. But all of this was really hard when Spencer was in jail for a murder that he didn’t commit. Penelope began to cry fat, wet tears that smeared her mascara and ran streaks into her foundation. She laid there and cried until she was even more tired than before, and had no tears left to shed. 

“I’m sorry.” She said, though the baby could not yet hear her. She got up and took a shower, washing off all of her makeup and all of the hairspray in her hair. A shower made her feel a great deal better. She made herself some herbal tea and settled into bed, but she was fast asleep before she could finish her tea. 

At home, JJ was looking at the plethora of baby toys and other items that littered her living room. By the time Penelope had her baby, JJ’s most recent addition would have likely grown out of a lot of these things. She planned on bagging them up and dropping them off on Penelope’s doorstep after a thorough cleaning. She was so genuinely happy for Garcia, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. She thought about her best friend as a father as she watched her baby crawling around the livingroom floor towards Will. They would be close enough in age, wouldn’t all of them? Michael, Hank and now Garcia and Reid’s baby would all be pretty close in age, with Hank in the middle. 

At the office the next day, Penelope shuffled in, not liking how her footsteps were no longer loud and clackety on the tile floor. She had balls of yellow, grey and white yarn in her tote bag along with a pair of knitting needles. JJ stopped her in the hall. 

“I’ve got something for you!” She said, as she dug around in her bag. 

She pulled out a book and handed it to Penelope “Some light reading!” 

Penelope took the copy of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and profusely thanked JJ before heading to her office. She fired up her system and started her day. She got to work on Reid’s case, researching and trying to connect all of the dots before JJ came in with another case that needed to be worked on on top of Reid’s. 

Almost a week went by before she was able to go back to the prison. Reid was bursting with questions that he had been storing away in his mind since the last time he had seen her. She delivered another envelope full of letters and little gifts. They had a lot to talk about in their brief visits. 

“Have you thought about where you want to give birth?” Was one of his first questions. 

“Well...I didn’t really think I had an option?” She figured she would go to the hospital like most people, though the hospital scared the living hell out of her. 

“You could have the baby at your place.” He suggested “Home births are increasing in popularity.” The thought of having the baby at home made her feel a little more at ease. She recalled hearing about babies born at home in little pools of water aided by midwives and the father. “I’ll look into it.” Though she knew her mind was made up about the matter already. If the doctor said it was alright for her to have a home birth, she would fill the kiddie pool up herself. But a home birth also meant no medication for the pain. But the thought of an epidural needle and not being able to move around was horrifying. 

“I think it’s safe to say that the baby will be living with you...since you have more room and sometimes things get a little rough at my place...We’ll eventually have to move in together...You know if I…” 

“Don’t you dare say if you get out of here because you are getting out of here and we’re going to buy a cute mid century home with a nice yard and maybe we’ll get a dog!” Spencer was a little floored by her assertiveness. 

“Anyway.” her calm demeanor returned “I’ve already started clearing out my spare bedroom. I was thinking yellow and grey. It’s a pretty gender-neutral color scheme. Maybe I’ll add some bumble bee decor? Bees are cute even though they’re rapidly dying…” 

“Hey...um…” Spencer said, looking down at his hands “If it gets too close to the due date and I’m still not out, get the team to help you decorate, but if I get out of here soon...Maybe wait for me?” “Oh...Oh of course I’ll wait for you! Oh my God, I promise I’ll wait. But I’m just throwing ideas out there since my brain can’t stop thinking about it!” 

"Is it weird that I don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl until it's born? I dunno...I guess I just like surprises?" Penelope suddenly liked the idea of not knowing until the baby was born. It seemed kind of old fashioned, but also like a happy surprise. "I'll think about it. I might find out and just not tell you." She winked at him, though she had a feeling she might just let herself be surprised. 

“Have you thought about names yet?” He asked. 

“I tried not to think about it too hard...Because I figure that’s a conversation we needed to have together.” 

She had been looking at baby naming websites in her free time, knitting needles working away at a blanket, though she had mostly been looking up girl names. 

“I like Gideon for a boy” Spencer said, biting his lip. She knew the name and the man attached to it meant a great deal to Spencer, and she liked the way it sounded. She was glad he hadn’t gone with Jason, because that brought on images of machetes and hockey masks. 

“I like Gideon.” She said, the name immediately clicked for her “ Gideon Derek, since Morgan named his baby Hank Spencer.” Reid grinned from ear to ear. She liked naming their kids after important people in their lives. It seemed sensible and steeped in meaning, but she felt fortunate that all of their closest friends had good names. 

“I like Diana for a girl. Not just like your mom. But like Wonder Woman too.” Penelope perked up a little more “And it’s not a name you hear all the time these days. She won’t be in a kindergarten class with four other Diana’s” Though there had just been a new Wonder Woman movie… 

Spencer thought a moment. “Diana Jennifer” he nodded, he liked the sound of that. JJ’s heart would melt when she heard it. 

“I thought it would take way longer for us to settle on names...But I guess there were just some obvious choices.” Penelope wiped away a sudden tear that threatened to drop from her eye. Picking names made everything seem all the more real. 

There was still a lot to discuss, but visiting hours were almost up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to get this up yesterday in time for the season 13 premier but I was too sick :(

There were too many patterns to sort through. Too many possibilities, and everything was starting to get tight. If Penelope Garcia couldn’t start decorating a nursery until her baby’s daddy got out of jail, then she could at least craft herself a fantastic maternity wardrobe. She had taken and written down measurements before heading to the fabric store and now had a cart full of colorful bolts of cloth and a few patterns for loose, flowy tops that would show off her bump until the day she popped. Leggings definitely counted as pants when you were pregnant, and the less buttons and zippers it took to get something down when you constantly have to pee, the better.

She wheeled her purchases out to the car and loaded them in the back seat. The next cart corral was so far away. But she pushed it anyway, the need to not be a jerk overcoming how badly she needed a nap. Once at home, Penelope took a half-hour catnap and got up to start cutting pattern pieces. Hopefully, she could have a few new things to wear to work next week. Next week she needed to go to human resources and discuss her maternity leave, which was going to be here before she knew it. She thought about Kevin Lynch sitting in her office, helping the team, and she was sure that her work family would be in good hands. Hopefully Reid would be out of prison by then. Would the team be able to spare both of them? Who could cover for someone like Reid? Especially for at least three months. 

Prison was turning out to be even more of a nightmare than Reid had originally anticipated. One of his only friends in prison had been murdered right before his eyes when they had refused to move drugs within the prison and now he had to constantly watch his back, no matter what. The hypervigilance would stick with him forever, especially once he poisoned the drug supply with laundry detergent. The only good thing happening for him was Garcia’s weekly visits. And of course, everyone else’s too. But Penelope’s visits were always so bittersweet. She was showing now, and he wanted nothing more than to touch her and to feel the curve of her stomach. “ She can probably feel it moving around.”he thought as he lay awake in his cell “ But it won’t start kicking hard enough for me to feel for a while longer though I’ll probably never feel it kick...or see it or anything because I’ll be in here forever. And my kid will think I’m a deadbeat and probably never come see me” Now he was maudlin. Prison was ruining his spirit. Making him hard and giving him a constant crusty feeling inside his mind. He never felt clean here, and he had never felt more alone. He closed his eyes and tried to think about happy thoughts, his mind wandered to what he was going to do once he got out. 

“What the?” He thought to himself at the first thing that came to mind, Jail certainly was making him gross, and probably a little selfish. And he wasn’t sure if Penelope would be into the idea of Irish Twins. Or if that term was offensive or not. He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to push away the thought of climbing into bed with her again. But damn, she was soft, and she smelled amazing and he would bet she would look damn good in any kind of lingerie his mind could come up with. Needless to say, not being able to touch her for a good long time was certainly getting to him. 

He had a cognitive interview with Lewis the next morning. He was hoping, on some kind of off chance, that she would bring Garcia with her. But no such luck. He didn’t ask. Spencer assumed Garcia was either busy or Lewis considered her a distraction. He had a clear memory now of stabbing Nadie Ramos during this interview, and he knew his fate was sealed. But Lewis was back the next day, asking for just one more try. This time gave her more answers than before. And these were the answers she was hoping for. A fine mist, sprayed in Reid’s face. But….A woman? He spent the rest of the day pondering this. Who was the woman? What did she look like? 

Every day he was in here though, seemed to get longer and longer. Routine took over and he felt as though he was plodding along. He had to constantly remind himself that he was thankful he wasn’t in a Mexican Supermax prison, though if that had been the route he had gone he probably would have been in a shallow grave by now. The lawyer that Emily had gotten him was pushing him to take a plea deal. He would plead guilty to something that he never did and spend a good chunk of his life in jail, rotting away, literally feeling his mind turn into nothing more than a handful of dust shaking around in his skull. His kid would probably be starting high school when he was finally released. He wasn’t about to take that plea deal. No way. Spencer Reid knew that he was right, that he had not killed that woman in a hotel room in Mexico. This was all about Mister Scratch, he was the one behind all of this. There had to be some way to prove it. 

“You’ve got a visitor” A guard said to him as he was lead out of his cell. “Mom?” He said in disbelief. They talked, Diana couldn’t stop gushing about the baby, she had seen a lot of Penelope, and even insisted on seeing Garcia’s apartment. 

“It’s a wonderful, colorful environment. Once baby’s sight develops better they prefer more colorful and complex images. I’ve been reading Jean Piaget, recently, though I know psychology is your field. It should be very stimulating place for Little Diana….Or Gideon! I like the name choices, by the way.” She filled the room with her excitement, though naturally she was hoping for a tiny Diana. 

“Yeah, I was pretty glad Hotch decided against Gideon for his son. I sort of really wanted it. But I didn’t want to say anything since I wasn’t even seeing anyone at the time. Anyways how are things with you? How’s Cassie?” He leaned on the table and looked closely at his mother. 

“I fired Cassie and got a new nurse” Diana didn’t seem to think that this was a problem, but Spencer was struggling not to be upset. . “Is this nurse any better than Cassie?” He asked “She is, I like her a lot better.” There was a soft knock at the door. Diana’s nurse. She seemed familiar but Spencer couldn’t place her. She was pretty young...Long brown hair. “It’s time to go home, Diana. “ She said, leading Diana out of the room. 

“Congratulations on your baby, Dr.Reid” Her tone was cheerful but the look she gave him as she left made everything click. 

Lindsey Vaughn. 

Spencer yelled for the guards but nobody heard him. He knew that she was the woman in the room with him when Nadie Ramos was murdered. She had probably been the one to kill her. He alerted the team and when they checked his apartment, Cassie was dead and dumped across the hall. Things would only get worse, as his status as a federal agent was revealed to the rest of the prisoners by the ones he had poisoned. Now his survival was more at stake than ever. 

Penelope sat in her office, a yellow baby sweater sat on an abandoned crochet hook as she worked frantically to find everything she could on the last whereabouts of Lindsey Vaughn. Now Diana Reid was missing and everything was crumbling around them. How was Reid going to be safe? She wondered, he must be going crazy just sitting there, not being able to do anything about the situation. Finally, she was coerced into going home, after being repeatedly told that everything would be alright, and that the team was doing everything they could. 

At home, Penelope wasn’t much better off. She laid in bed uneasily, not able to get comfortable. She made a late-night impulse purchase of a pregnancy body pillow and was willing to shell out the extra cash to have it overnighted. In the meantime, she made herself a nest of pillows and used every relaxing meditation technique she had ever heard about to lull herself into an uneasy sleep that was eventually interrupted by two trips to the bathroom and what felt like a big fish moving around in her stomach. How was she ever going to sleep again? 

Morning came and she awoke to a phone call from Emily. 

“We’re going to pick up Reid at noon today!” She could hear the excitement in Emily’s voice. “You’re coming, right? “ 

“Of course I’m coming! Let me get dressed!” It was just after nine. She had plenty of time. What were they going to do after? Reid couldn’t go back to his apartment now, it was considered a crime scene. He would just have to stay with her! That was the best possible outcome, given the situation. She felt just a little selfish for thinking about possibly having Reid all to herself for just a little while. But she couldn’t wait to see him and be able to touch him again. She put on some lipstick, and her favorite dress that still fit and met Emily and JJ at the BAU. 

Spencer nearly fell over when he heard the news that he was being released. JJ and Emily were coming for him. He got dressed in a dark suit, the one he had stood trial in and was let out of the prison doors. Penelope was standing outside. He flew down the steps and nearly threw himself into her arms, though he immediately pulled back, afraid he had been a little rough. “Watch out there, Doctor. You don’t wanna tip me over.” Spencer nodded, he was dumbstruck. There she was, everything was suddenly so much more real. 

“C-Can I?” He asked, holding his hands out. 

“Of course! It’s about time the baby genius got some dad love.” 

JJ caught a few pictures on her phone, she had to. Though this was probably the worst possible moment, in the worst possible place, but Spencer’s face as he touched Garcia’s stomach for the first time since he found out she was pregnant was one of the most priceless things she had ever seen in her life. 

“We call back seat!” Garcia opened the door and slid into the SUV, scooting over to the other side so Reid could sit next to her. 

“Alright, you two keep it PG” Emily started the car and they drove away from the prison. Spencer felt an overwhelming wave of relief as the prison got smaller and smaller behind them. There was still anxiety about his mom, and an urgent need to find her, but it was mixed with an overwhelming joy. It was a lot of emotion for him to process as he listened to the three women in the car talk to him about where he was going to stay and what he needed to know about the case and being reinstated as an agent. 

His head rested on Penelope’s shoulder. He could smell her light, sweet perfume. One hand rested on her stomach, loving the feel of the firm bump. He let his eyes close for just a moment before they shot open at the unmistakeable feeling of a kick.


End file.
